Monte Cecilia chief executive Bernie Smith says tenants who get stuck in temporary homes suffer social consequences: "They can't put roots down." Photo / Dean Purcell
Monte Cecilia chief executive Bernie Smith says tenants who get stuck in temporary homes suffer social consequences: "They can't put roots down." Photo / Dean Purcell
A South Auckland housing provider says it is struggling to move its tenants into permanent homes for the first time in its 40-year history.
Monte Cecilia Housing Trust in Mangere said more than 1000 tenants in its short-term, or transitional housing could be stuck there for a year or two because of a shortage of rental properties.
The trust traces the problem to a minor funding tweak made by the Government in September, when it stopped paying for private rentals to be turned into social housing - with some exemptions for urgent cases.
"No one is moving," said Monte Cecilia CEO Bernie Smith. "Because we can't move them anywhere."
"For the first time in 39 years, we've had to stop taking referrals. We've got no homes to put them in."
The leasing of non-government homes (private and council properties) for social housing is known as a "redirect".
Last year, Monte Cecilia shifted 190 families from its transitional houses into long-term housing. Of this total, 130 were placed in "redirected" houses - leased from developers or landlords.
Megan Woods says she wants housing providers to be "building not buying", and that paying for private homes to be used as social housing did not lift the overall housing supply. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Housing Minister Megan Woods said redirects did not add to the overall housing supply because they took housing from the private rental market.
"So what we are saying to Community Housing Providers is that we have a preference for new build public housing to be delivered ... "
"That's because the more affordable housing that's built, the more it will open up opportunities for both home ownership and rentals."
Smith was broadly supportive of this goal, but said the funding change should not have occurred during a housing crisis, when the Government should be using every tool in its toolkit.
Other Community Housing Providers (CHPs) have suggested that it could have removed the funding more gradually rather than all at once.
Woods noted that some redirects were still being funded by Government, in particular for programmes which dealt with high needs or vulnerable tenants.
"Another key point is that no-one will be displaced by this policy," she said. "Existing redirects can be renewed or relisted when they become vacant."
Lillian King moved into a four-bedroom transitional house in Papatoetoe 14 months ago with Monte Cecilia's help. She described it as a relief after a year and a half in emergency housing, which was "the worst experience I have ever had".
But the stay-at-home mum, who recently separated from her partner, has become stranded, with no affordable rentals available for her large family. Her budget can stretch to $700, and most large rentals are asking for more than $800.
"I never expected to be here this long," she said. "And we can't really make this home [our] home."
Wanting to give her children some stability, King has kept them in their schools in Mangere East, despite the relatively long commute.
One option for her is to move into a Kainga Ora property, but she has been on the waitlist for two years and is not optimistic of getting a home because of her priority rating and large family.
Transitional housing tenancies are meant to last around three months.
Smith said most Monte Cecilia tenants were moved from temporary to permanent homes within six months. And without funded rental properties, the pathway for homeless to get into long-term homes has ground to a halt.
"That means they can't put roots down," Smith said. "Because they don't know if they'll be there for three months, six months or 12 months. They don't know if they'll be moving their kids to another school, moving away from work."
Backed by Government funding, Monte Cecilia has significantly grown its transitional housing stock from 39 places and more than 160 in three years. It currently has 1115 tenants in transitional homes, including 779 children. But because they are staying in the homes for longer, the waitlist has grown to 400 families.
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